A serious look at Mauricio Pochettino

[cjj]

I wonder what (who) is he waiting? Turned down Monaco and Benfica. Does he have some secret deal with Real, PSG or United or he just decided to wait even it means waiting two years? Strange one

He probably knows that if he chooses the wrong 'next job' he could end up back at Southampton level (no offence to them, it's just context).

As a result, I expect he'd be cleverer to wait for a strong team in a league where's he's somewhat guaranteed to win something. Could be that PSG have whispered in his ear that they'll consider him after Tuchel, or Real have said 'when Zidane decides to quit again'.

Daftest thing he could do is go for a Newcastle-after-buyout type job, though.

 

[Tel074]

We will never get a better chance to hire a top class manager and steady the ship.

We can hire Jesus Christ but it will all end the same with them parasites in charge

 

[USREDEVIL]

He'll be the next Tottenham manager after Mourinho gets sacked next season.

I mean he probably reckoned he wouldnt have to wait long anyways once they hired Mourinho. ouch.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

We will never get a better chance to hire a top class manager and steady the ship.

No manager can steady this ship.

 

[Cassidy]

He'll be the next Tottenham manager after Mourinho gets sacked next season.

I wouldn't be surprised is Spurs had a good season

 

[crossy1686]

We will never get a better chance to hire a top class manager and steady the ship.

You think this is the managers doing? And you seriously think the board will appoint a "top class" manager with expectations now they've had a taste of a "stooge"? You would think that they would want to protect a man who loves the club and has protected them from flak for the last couple of seasons, but no, they're doing it again, prepping him for a sacking so they can hire a new manager and start the cycle all over again.

You're brain dead if you can't see it.

 

[united_99]

He may be waiting for one of Zidane/Tuchel/Ole/Lampard to leave or to be sacked. But it’s a risky game. He could be considered but could also easily be ignored as his CV isn’t too impressive. Obviously Zidane, Lampard and Ole didn’t have (very) impressive CVc either as managers but the clubs gave them a chance as they are club legends.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

I wouldn't be surprised is Spurs had a good season

They will a cup of some kind I'm sure.

 

[Tyrion]

We can hire Jesus Christ but it will all end the same with them parasites in charge

We won plenty with SAF in charge.

I wouldn't be surprised is Spurs had a good season

True. Based on his time at Chelsea (the second time) and us, he'll do well this year and be sacked with Spurs in 12th by Halloween 2021.

You think this is the managers doing? And you seriously think the board will appoint a "top class" manager with expectations now they've had a taste of a "stooge"? You would think that they would want to protect a man who loves the club and has protected them from flak for the last couple of seasons, but no, they're doing it again, prepping him for a sacking so they can hire a new manager and start the cycle all over again.

You're brain dead if you can't see it.

They hired LVG and Mourinho, both of whom are famously difficult. I don't see any reason why they'd hire a manager just because they're a "stooge". I agree a better manager wouldn't solve all our problems but this club with Poch as manager would do better than this club with OGS as manager.

 

[crossy1686]

They hired LVG and Mourinho, both of whom are famously difficult. I don't see any reason why they'd hire a manager just because they're a "stooge". I agree a better manager wouldn't solve all our problems but this club with Poch as manager would do better than this club with OGS as manager.

So what happens then? Pochettino comes in, needs time to evaluate the squad, Lingard, Jones, Mata and Pereria all stay at the club, we end up signing Deli Ali. Stumble through season, fail to qualify for the CL. Lose Pogba and maybe Rashford or Martial in the summer. Scramble to replace them with whatever cast offs Madrid or Barcelona are dumping, or worse, sign Zaha, Rice and Dier for daft money. Scrape top 4 and end up back where we are now.

In the mean time a whole load of questioning of Pochettino and his ability to get a tune out of the squad.

 

[Cassidy]

So what happens then? Pochettino comes in, needs time to evaluate the squad, Lingard, Jones, Mata and Pereria all stay at the club, we end up signing Deli Ali. Stumble through season, fail to qualify for the CL. Lose Pogba and maybe Rashford or Martial in the summer. Scramble to replace them with whatever cast offs Madrid or Barcelona are dumping, or worse, sign Zaha, Rice and Dier for daft money. Scrape top 4 and end up back where we are now.

In the mean time a whole load of questioning of Pochettino and his ability to get a tune out of the squad.

Why would that happen, Pochetinno could actually hit the ground running just like Ole did when he arrived. The notion he would need time to evaluate the squad before we get rid of players we already know are useless says everything that is wrong with the club.

If we had a competent sporting director team they would be sold regardless and the incoming manager wouldn't even have a chance to consider them.

 

[Igor Drefljak]

I'd absolutely take Poch.
People say he's never won anything but thats like me handing you a Racing point or Mclaren and saying, go on, go beat the Mercedes (An F1 analogy, and for anyone who doesn't know, it won't happen)

He went to Southampton and over performed.
He went to Spurs and over performed.

At these clubs, he was never expected to win. Yeah sure, maybe a league cup, but it just doesn't matter. He turned Spurs, on a small budget, into a consistent top 4 side. Something we haven't been for many years, with a budget that dwarfs what he had at his disposal.

I'm also not suggesting he'd come here and work wonders, as them clowns above him make it almost impossible for anyone to be a success here, but he's actually proved to be a very good manager, getting the best out of his players and achieving above expectations with what he has.

As for Ole, no offence, he's got nothing of note to say he has worked his way into this job

 

[crossy1686]

Why would that happen, Pochetinno could actually hit the ground running just like Ole did when he arrived. The notion he would need time to evaluate the squad before we get rid of players we already know are useless says everything that is wrong with the club.

If we had a competent sporting director team they would be sold regardless and the incoming manager wouldn't even have a chance to consider them.

He could by all means hit the ground running but it wouldn't last, same as it blows hot and cold for Solskjaer. The squad are too temperamental.

 

[Cassidy]

He could by all means hit the ground running but it wouldn't last, same as it blows hot and cold for Solskjaer. The squad are too temperamental.

The squad actually has enough parts to be consistently good (not spectacular) with good management.
What is clear is that we lack in terms of tactical flexibility and once we come up against something we are not tactically prepared for we got to shit.

Our manager clearly doesn't understand that he cannot play a player who cannot pass the ball well in the 6 position when playing 4231

Everyone down playing the squad. Yes its not good enough to win the title granted but we actually have a lot of quality in the squad more than Poch had a Spurs

 

[SAFMUTD]

I wonder what (who) is he waiting? Turned down Monaco and Benfica. Does he have some secret deal with Real, PSG or United or he just decided to wait even it means waiting two years? Strange one

Monaco or Benfica arent exactly top clubs of Europe, I think he favours himself on landing a better job.

 

[TsuWave]

One day we’ll be free of this bondage with Ole that rides mostly on emotion/nostalgia

 

[sammsky1]

So this is where all the OleOUT crew hang out for their shared orgasms

 

[crossy1686]

The squad actually has enough parts to be consistently good (not spectacular) with good management.
What is clear is that we lack in terms of tactical flexibility and once we come up against something we are not tactically prepared for we got to shit.

Our manager clearly doesn't understand that he cannot play a player who cannot pass the ball well in the 6 position when playing 4231

Everyone down playing the squad. Yes its not good enough to win the title granted but we actually have a lot of quality in the squad more than Poch had a Spurs

I still believe this squad is good enough for the top 4, I don't think Chelsea have pulled away from us that far and I do think that despite all the kneejerking going on, if we were fitter and ready for a season opener we'd have done a lot better yesterday.

I don't think Solskjaer is that bad, he gets a lot of stick for this "passage of play" nonsense but at the day he can't stop James from running down a blind alley or Rashford taking punts from 30 yards. Poor decisions and errors are generally what plague our performances.

I'm not really sure sacking him is the answer, it would give the board another couple of seasons of breathing room. We've made progress and players have improved, all the evidence points to that continuing if he's backed with players that can allow us to kick on.

 

[Andycoleno9]

So this is where all the OleOUT crew hang out for their shared orgasms

Yes. Because we like quality managers. Or at least managers who deserve that title.

 

[NJM78]

I would still take him over Ole despite our owners and board. That has never changed for me.

 

[Igor Drefljak]

I still believe this squad is good enough for the top 4, I don't think Chelsea have pulled away from us that far and I do think that despite all the kneejerking going on, if we were fitter and ready for a season opener we'd have done a lot better yesterday.

I don't think Solskjaer is that bad, he gets a lot of stick for this "passage of play" nonsense but at the day he can't stop James from running down a blind alley or Rashford taking punts from 30 yards. Poor decisions and errors are generally what plague our performances.

I'm not really sure sacking him is the answer, it would give the board another couple of seasons of breathing room. We've made progress and players have improved, all the evidence points to that continuing if he's backed with players that can allow us to kick on.

The squad is good enough, sure, but I'd say so far that Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and even Everton have had a better window than us.
Chelsea will take 3rd spot and we're gonna have another season of fighting for 4th spot. This time, against Arsenal and Spurs.

You say Ole isn't that bad. Is that what we settle for now?
He's had two good runs as United boss. One at the beginning that got him the job, and then one at the end of the season that saved his job.

And as for progress, the only progress we made last season is getting Bruno in which saved his job.
People slated me for using points total as a guide to judging a season, but last year we finished on 66points. The same as the season before. Two more than the Moyes season.

Imagine if we didn't get Bruno, and our season carried on the way it was. Bruno saved him last year, not his coaching

 

[Cassidy]

I still believe this squad is good enough for the top 4, I don't think Chelsea have pulled away from us that far and I do think that despite all the kneejerking going on, if we were fitter and ready for a season opener we'd have done a lot better yesterday.

I don't think Solskjaer is that bad, he gets a lot of stick for this "passage of play" nonsense but at the day he can't stop James from running down a blind alley or Rashford taking punts from 30 yards. Poor decisions and errors are generally what plague our performances.

I'm not really sure sacking him is the answer, it would give the board another couple of seasons of breathing room. We've made progress and players have improved, all the evidence points to that continuing if he's backed with players that can allow us to kick on.

He isn't that bad I agree. But he has clear flaws

I completely disagree, yes he can stop them doing things he doesn't want them to do, thats his job, its called coaching and it seems in this day and age football managers are excused from having to do it.

You will notice that since the turn of the year Rashford is playing completely different to how he did before xmas, that is obviously by instruction and based on the tactical setup. He no longer makes runs in behind and instead looks to take the ball deep and make killer passes. Now this has inturn coincided with a sharp decline in his performances, has this been changed though, well from what I can see no. Maybe its to accommodate Bruno, maybe its his back injury but its not working.

I think Ole has done a good job in getting Rashford Martial and Greenwood scoring goals, he has also done a good job in other areas, however he has some flaws and I'm just not sure he can take us where we want to go. However saying that I think he has earned more respect as a manager given what he managed to achieve last season.

 

[Igor Drefljak]

Pre Fernandes
24 games - 34 points - Avg - 1.41
With Fernandes
14 games - 32 points - Avg - 2.28

 

[NJM78]

Pre Fernandes
24 games - 34 points - Avg - 1.41
With Fernandes
14 games - 32 points - Avg - 2.28

Yep if we didn’t get Fernandes we would have finished on about 54 points which would have had us about 9th and Ole no doubt sacked.

 

[Mainoldo]

Don’t tease me like this lads. I thought the rumours have begun.

 

[starman]

I dont get where this miraculous transformation he did to Southampton and Spurs comes from that people say happened.

He carried on from Nigel Adkins who took Southampton from League 1 to the PL and was harshly sacked. He finished 8th in his first full season which Koeman improved on that twice and Puel equalled.

As for Spurs, they had not finished outside the top 8 since 2008, they were a hardly a bottom half club people keep on trying to make out when he took over.
Redknapp is the one that pushed Spurs out from being a nothing club, he's the one that got them first in the top 4, and won their first and only trophy since 1999.
Poch had a open goal during the year Leicester won the PL and blew it. He's never a won trophy. Him winning the CL with Spurs would have been as flukey Di Matteo winning it with Chelsea...

 

[bond19821982]

I wonder what (who) is he waiting? Turned down Monaco and Benfica. Does he have some secret deal with Real, PSG or United or he just decided to wait even it means waiting two years? Strange one

He is waiting for us .

 

[Igor Drefljak]

Poch had a open goal during the year Leicester won the PL and blew it. He's never a won trophy. Him winning the CL with Spurs would have been as flukey Di Matteo winning it with Chelsea...

So wait. He doesn't win the CL so he's a shit manager whose won nothing.
If he did win the CL it was just an absolute fluke and he's a shit manager.

Nice one, I can go to bed now knowing the guys an absolute fraud no matter what he does.
Whereas we've got the man who won a league in Norway

 

[Champagne Football]

As if the board are going to sack a manager who had a hugely successful end to a season a few months ago.

Ole has had a thankless task trying to get rid of all the pampered diva's Jose etc left, while also developing Greenwood, and rebuilding the shattered confidence of Pogba, Shaw and Martial.

We had a horror result with Palace because we had a dodgy preseason due to the extra Europa League games. We will improve.

Pochettino is a brilliant manager, but Ole would deserve at least till Christmas before anyone can say whether he should be sacked or not.

 

[starman]

So wait. He doesn't win the CL so he's a shit manager whose won nothing.
If he did win the CL it was just an absolute fluke and he's a shit manager.

Nice one, I can go to bed now knowing the guys an absolute fraud no matter what he does.
Whereas we've got the man who won a league in Norway

Where did I say he was shit?? Show me? This is typical stuff of people who mystify his achievements, they are happy to make up stuff...

He's overrated, simple as.

 

[united_99]

At least Ole finished 3rd the way he did and not like this:

https://medium.com/@dennisheatubun/...nished-third-in-a-two-horse-race-60791e9f456c

Nice memories these!

 

[criticalanalysis]

I think Pochettino had an edge when he came to England eight years ago. He was probably the only coach in the PL to play with a organized, high press and a drilled, modern system on how to play out from the back. It gave his team a tactical advantage.

Today a lot of teams (Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Brighton, Southampton, Leeds) play this way and teams are getting used to it and know better how solve the issues this style present. So the edge he once had is gone.

We see these types of paradigm shifts all the time in football. Some more crucial than others. Data analytics and this type of style has been the two most crucial shifts of the past decade. Ferguson somehow always managed to stay on top of the changes. I remember when Mourinho came in and had a edge with his «tactical periodization»-ideas that gave him an edge. At that time, CQ (who once was a teacher to Mourinho) had already been with us for a few years.
I still think we need a coach/manager who know how to implement this type of style, but I’m less convinced that it have to be Pochettino. But yes, sure, Pochettino would be better than anything we have tried so far.

I think a lot of this is the main issue.

Pochettino was a 'trendsetter' with Southampton and early spurs by rinsing a high level of fitness out of his teams, pressing high etc. Pep came over and had his version, everyone evolved to the fashion and slowly Poch's style was watered down by everyone else's implementation.
He didn't evolve it in any way over the 5 and a bit seasons, and very, very rarely had an effective 'Plan B' that was anything but a car crash. Wouldn't make a sub before the 80th minute unless he had to either. What this meant was that the high intensity just wrecked the players and the team's lifespan suffered.
He'd be great if you wanted to finish 2nd or 3rd consistently, but we never had the stamina for a full season - that's why Liverpool and Leicester won titles ahead of us, because we'd be great for the first 85% of the season, then tire and fall away for the rest.

Of course he could evolve and come back different, but history is littered with managers who were inexplicably good (but not glorious) for a small window of time, and then faded away. I think clubs must know this, as "the hottest manager around" (so said the media at the time) has been out of a job for a year whilst several huge jobs have passed him by.

Name me one manager, who's managed to evolve a team with a shoe-shrine budget and then perform even better than the previous year whilst all surrounding peers and rivals are investing heavily? It's an acheivement in itself to maintain the status quo of being a solid top 4 team whilst contending on limited resource.

If he's able to apply this 'trendsetter' but dated tactics according to yourselves to Utd, we would be a much much better team than we are showing, which is what most of us are hoping. The thing is it's ridiiculous to suggest, high pressing, compact, organised, possession football is limited because that's the point. You beat teams with your Plan A. Most managers don't need a solid plan B (apart from several games a year) because plan A will win you the majority of games. Right now we're not got a plan A or B. Literally all the big teams play this way and most have a larger enough squad to sustain it.

Utd's squad is solid top four material and capable of 'challenging'/putting a good run if there the coaching is there. There's no sure fire manager available than can turn our fortunes around but Poch's style is plenty evidence that it points to the right direction if given the reigns.

 

[Cloud7]

Don’t tease me like this lads. I thought the rumours have begun.

I thought so as well. Got myself a shred of excitement there

 

[Tel074]

We won plenty with SAF in charge.



True. Based on his time at Chelsea (the second time) and us, he'll do well this year and be sacked with Spurs in 12th by Halloween 2021.



They hired LVG and Mourinho, both of whom are famously difficult. I don't see any reason why they'd hire a manager just because they're a "stooge". I agree a better manager wouldn't solve all our problems but this club with Poch as manager would do better than this club with OGS as manager.

And that had absolutely nothing to do with the Glazer ownership

 

[Andycoleno9]

So wait. He doesn't win the CL so he's a shit manager whose won nothing.
If he did win the CL it was just an absolute fluke and he's a shit manager.

Nice one, I can go to bed now knowing the guys an absolute fraud no matter what he does.
Whereas we've got the man who won a league in Norway

How some people talk about his reign (lack of trophies) in Spurs you would imagine that he managed City or Chelsea. That he had huge budget and world class players in team who is every year one of favourites for title. I mean, it is normal for Spurs to challenge for title, isn't it?
Ole would be in the middle of the table with that Spurs.

 

[FootyGirl88]

People are mocking Poch but when was the last time we got to CL final and finished with 86 points in the league? We’ve done none of these things since SAF retired so I don’t see how we can be mocking Poch for it especially as he did those things with a small budget.

 

[Josh 76]

People are mocking Poch but when was the last time we got to CL final and finished with 86 points in the league? We’ve done none of these things since SAF retired so I don’t see how we can be mocking Poch for it especially as he did those things with a small budget.

Not sure why people are mocking Poch. So he never won a League Cup (like Mourhino) or FA cup (like LVG), so fecking what. I don't give a feck about those trophies.
All I know is he took Southampton out of the relegation zone and made them into a top 6 side, playing a high pressing brand of football and making average players into great players.

Then he made Spurs into title contenders and got them to to CL final, with a net spend of feck all.

He's the only manager I've seen play Klopp at his own game and smash him.

How can you fault this guy. If Utd fans want meaningless trophies, why did we get out Mourhino.

 

[RashyForPM]

Ole hasn’t won anything outside of Norway in 9 years of management while Pochettino hasn’t won anything period in 11 years of management. However, Pochettino has managed at Espanyol, Southampton and Spurs and has overperformed at each club, while never being expected to win trophies at any. In the meantime, Ole managed Molde and Cardiff before coming here for no reason other than him being a club legend as a player. Pochettino has also played great football all the time bar his last 12 months at Spurs and clearly has a football idea which he has no problem implementing. Evident for all to see, it is high pressing, quick passing football with overlapping fullbacks getting crosses in to the big striker (Lambert at Southampton, Kane at Spurs).

So, to all the people saying Ole over him, let me ask you: What is Ole’s style of football and why do you prefer him over Pochettino, leaving sentiment out of it? I doubt any of you will be able to reply to this post without avoiding the question.

Just to clarify, I really love Ole and thank him for the 99 goal most importantly, but Ole out all day long if Pochettino is available, which he is now. It’s what’s best for Manchester United’s present and future.

 

[FootyGirl88]

Not sure why people are mocking Poch. So he never won a League Cup (like Mourhino) or FA cup (like LVG), so fecking what. I don't give a feck about those trophies.
All I know is he took Southampton out of the relegation zone and made them into a top 6 side, playing a high pressing brand of football and making average players into great players.

Then he made Spurs into title contenders and got them to to CL final, with a net spend of feck all.

He's the only manager I've seen play Klopp at his own game and smash him.

How can you fault this guy. If Utd fans want meaningless trophies, why did we get out Mourhino.

I thought we brought Jose in to challenge for big trophies i.e PL and CL
or maybe im wrong.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

OGS has earned the right to be manager of United for this season.

Or another point, were there even any top jobs that came up this summer for Poch? Barca is the only one that comes to mind, and you would have had to be nuts to go there.